Heart-stopping video shows the moment a toddler fell from a fourth-story balcony after his father left him home alone to get cigarettes.
Horrified residents can be heard gasping and shouting as the 2-year-old boy clings to the outside of the building in Colombia’s capital, Bogota.
Suddenly, the child loses his grip and plunges from the balcony, appearing to strike part of the building’s facade on the way down, according to video shared by Newsflash.
Fortunately, he was caught by neighbors waiting below with blankets, jackets, and warm clothing during the shocking incident which happened at around 9 p.m. on May 7.
At least six people had gathered on the ground to form a makeshift safety net after seeing the child standing at the edge of the building, his feet on a narrow ledge.
Shocking video shows a toddler clinging to the edge of a balcony in Bogota, Colombia. Newsflash/NX The boy’s father, who has not been identified, later admitted he had left the child home alone at the time.
“I went out for a moment with my brother to buy some cigarettes. We wanted to smoke them outside so we would not fill the apartment with smoke because there is a small child there,” the father told local media.
“When we came back from the shop, the child was already on the balcony, and everything had happened,” he said, adding that his son had suffered “no fractures” and was otherwise in a “good condition.”
Suddenly, the child plummets off the balcony, before being caught by neighbors waiting below. Newsflash/NX Relatives said the toddler climbed onto the edge of the balcony using brick blocks fixed to the wall, according to local reports.
A neighbor raised the alarm after returning from the store and seeing the child’s head and arm leaning over the edge.
“What I imagined was that a child should not be there alone and should be with someone. I started talking to him, he started turning around, and he was left holding on only with his arms,” the neighbor told local media.
Child protection workers and officials are now looking into the incident and assessing the family environment and safety conditions at the home, local media reported.
